An Atheist Explores the Qur'an Part 47: Promise Me Son Not To Do The Things I’ve Done. Plus, Allah stands up for Trans- rights (Consultation (al-Shura))

Consultation (al-Shura) 1-53
Promise Me Son Not To Do The Things I’ve Done. Plus, Allah stands up for Trans- rights.

Welcome to the next instalment of An Atheist Explores Sacred Texts (Qur’an version).

In this series I work my way chapter-by-chapter through the Qur’an, commenting on it from the point of view of the text as literature and mythology.

For more detail, see the introductory post https://bit.ly/2ApLDy0

For the online Qur’an that I use, see here http://al-quran.info and http://quran.com

Consultation (al-Shura) 1-20

“The heavens are about to be rent apart from above them, while the angels celebrate the praise of their Lord and plead for forgiveness for those on the earth. Look! Allah is indeed the All-forgiving, the All-merciful!”

There are two curious things about the start of this surah. The first is that it begins with two verses of the mysterious single Arabic characters - “Ḥā, Mīm, ʿAyn, Sīn, Qāf.” The second is the way that the English translation is presented on the website I use has been altered to a more verse-like form, although this isn’t replicated in my quotes here, nor is it shown in the original Arabic nor the transliteration. Possibly it’s an attempt to capture the poetry more, I don’t know. It works, as it makes the verses less of a block of text.

Mecca is referred to as “the Mother of the Towns”, and these verses are mostly familiar stuff about how the Qur’an is a warning of the “Hour” when God’s judgement shall fall, backed up with “evidence” of things existing and prior prophets. You know the drill by now. There’s some discussion about factionalism, presumably within the Meccan Muslims, and the Qur’an urges them at least to agree to disagree since all things lead in the end to God - “Our deeds belong to us and your deeds belong to you.”

At verse 20 we get a little warning about putting too much stock in worldy things - “Whoever desires the tillage of the Hereafter, We will enhance for him his tillage, and whoever desires the tillage of the world, We will give it to him, but he will have no share in the Hereafter”. In this middling period of the Qur’an, there’s still a certain level of laissez-faire. Sure, it says, you could do all these things. No one will force you not to, you’ll just wind up in Hell. But that’s your problem, not mine. The (chronologically) later surahs tend to become a bit more fervent about everyone following the one true way.

Consultation 21-40

“You will see the wrongdoers apprehensive because of what they have earned, while it is about to befall them; but those who have faith and do righteous deeds will be in the gardens of paradise: they will have whatever they wish near their Lord. That is the greatest grace.”

More of the same kind of stuff, this time with one of the other common Qur’an themes – “evidence” that the Prophet is passing on the word of God. The argument runs that if the Prophet was speaking contrary to God’s will, God would shut him up. Based on … all those other times false prophets were struck dumb, I guess. You know those well-documented occasions?

No?

No. Me neither. But they must be true.

More seriously, there’s actually a hint at what constitutes “good” behaviour, which sound fairly reasonable - “Those who avoid major sins and indecencies, and forgive when angered; those who answer their Lord, maintain the prayer, and their affairs are by counsel among themselves, and they spend out of what We have provided them with; those who, when visited by aggression, come to each other’s aid” except of course that what is considered a “sin” or “indecency” are not mentioned. Which turns it a bit tautological – a good person is someone that doesn’t do bad stuff.

Consultation 41-53

“It is not [possible] for any human that Allah should speak to him except through revelation or from behind a curtain, or send a messenger”

No “turn the other cheek” philosophy for Islam - “As for those who retaliate after being wronged, there is no blame upon them”, except that despite saying that revenge is okay it also goes on to say that forgiveness is better - “As for him who endures patiently and forgives —that is indeed the steadiest of courses.” It’s that pragmatism at work again. Sometimes, like in Kenny Rogers’ Coward of the County, you’ve got to stand up for yourself. It’s a shame that “being wronged” is left rather vague. Avenging the gang-rape of your sweetheart by the Gatlin Boys is one thing, but this could easily be interpreted as a spilt drink.

And one other surprise; after telling us that Allah “gives females to whomever He wishes, and gives males to whomever He wishes”, it turns out that Allah understand non-binary gender because “or He combines them males and females, and makes sterile whomever He wishes”. I assuming that the combined males and females refer to hermaphroditism rather than gender dysmorphia, since physical manifestations are easier to see and comprehend. Still, I’m surprised at even this level of inclusivity, and perhaps this could be extended to all beings with developmental differences; everything is made by Allah and so everything is equally as good. Compare to the Levitical proscriptions about anyone with blemishes entering the temple.

Edit: Or, of course, males and females "combining" is a reference to sexual intercourse, hence also the reference to infertility!